...is the anticipated wait we will have at the airport for our departure due both to us traveling on Memorial Day Weekend and to the fact that there reportedly have been delays of up to three hours to get through TSA screening. Just yesterday, I heard on the radio, that the Port Authority in New York has recommended that passengers arrive at New York airports three hours before their scheduled flights! I had already planned to be at the airport with Brendan about 2 1/2 hours early so another half hour will not phase us. What gets me though is that the airline on which we are flying does not open its ticket counter(s) until two hours before the scheduled flight; I just called them a few minutes ago and was given that tidbit of information. Then, when I asked the airline representative if it would make any difference if we arrive only two hours early instead of three as has been recommended. She, after some hesitation and stammering, said no it wouldn't. The airlines are obviously aware of the problems with TSA dragging its butt on screening passengers but seemingly are doing little to help.
It's not like it is the fault of the screeners, it is almost definitely due to two other things. The first is that TSA is down in manpower by about 10% since it's staffing peak in 2013. Combine that with reports saying air travel in the USA is up by 15% (source) and the math works out to TSA not having enough screeners. The government says it plans to hire about 800 new employees (source) while the union is screaming for them to hire 6,000 screeners (source). Neither likely will help the current problem because they probably will not be in place in time for this year's summer rush. Even if TSA hires almost 800 new screeners in a hurry, remember they are down about 5,000 screeners since 2013 (source). How the bureaucratic wizards of the Obama Administration expect that hiring only about 800 screeners will alleviate the current problem is beyond the scope of my imagination especially since we had long lines, maybe not as long as now but still long, back in 2013 when there were about 5,000 more screeners. Obama is snake-oil seller par excellence though and at least his worshippers will be convinced this additional bit of mesmerizing but worthless chicanery is the cure.
The second issue causing longer lines reportedly is the fact that most airlines now charge baggage fees for any checked bags. I know that the baggage fees added considerably to our trip's expenses, to the tune of $140 over and above the cost of the airfare and that was for a total of only three checked bags, two for me and one for Brendan and we got a discount for paying ahead of time. People don't want to pay those fees, so what do they do? They stuff as much as they can into their carry-on bags and take one carry-on plus whatever else is allowed as carry-on baggage like a large purse stuffed with undies or an attaché case loaded with socks. How does that affect TSA screening waits? It means that the TSA screeners have more carry-on baggage to screen and more stuff inside of them to wade through when screening them.
I just watched a video over at YouTube, I am not sure which airport it was made but it shows a long, long, long, long line for TSA screening. If our line winds up that long, I would think we maybe will be missing our flight. I sure as heck hope not.
All the best,
Glenn B
It's not like it is the fault of the screeners, it is almost definitely due to two other things. The first is that TSA is down in manpower by about 10% since it's staffing peak in 2013. Combine that with reports saying air travel in the USA is up by 15% (source) and the math works out to TSA not having enough screeners. The government says it plans to hire about 800 new employees (source) while the union is screaming for them to hire 6,000 screeners (source). Neither likely will help the current problem because they probably will not be in place in time for this year's summer rush. Even if TSA hires almost 800 new screeners in a hurry, remember they are down about 5,000 screeners since 2013 (source). How the bureaucratic wizards of the Obama Administration expect that hiring only about 800 screeners will alleviate the current problem is beyond the scope of my imagination especially since we had long lines, maybe not as long as now but still long, back in 2013 when there were about 5,000 more screeners. Obama is snake-oil seller par excellence though and at least his worshippers will be convinced this additional bit of mesmerizing but worthless chicanery is the cure.
The second issue causing longer lines reportedly is the fact that most airlines now charge baggage fees for any checked bags. I know that the baggage fees added considerably to our trip's expenses, to the tune of $140 over and above the cost of the airfare and that was for a total of only three checked bags, two for me and one for Brendan and we got a discount for paying ahead of time. People don't want to pay those fees, so what do they do? They stuff as much as they can into their carry-on bags and take one carry-on plus whatever else is allowed as carry-on baggage like a large purse stuffed with undies or an attaché case loaded with socks. How does that affect TSA screening waits? It means that the TSA screeners have more carry-on baggage to screen and more stuff inside of them to wade through when screening them.
I just watched a video over at YouTube, I am not sure which airport it was made but it shows a long, long, long, long line for TSA screening. If our line winds up that long, I would think we maybe will be missing our flight. I sure as heck hope not.
All the best,
Glenn B
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